


The Most Natural Thing

by kt_rose28



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 09:03:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19422811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kt_rose28/pseuds/kt_rose28
Summary: Early in the relationship, David accidentally spends the night. Sometime between 4x01 and 4x02





	The Most Natural Thing

**Author's Note:**

> I recognize I use the word “boyfriend” to describe Patrick several times. The label conversation comes much later in the show. However, in my head, I imagine David thinks of him as his boyfriend long before they discuss it haha. hope you enjoy!

Something is wrong. 

David was planning on heading back to the motel to test one of the newly-arrived mud masks from the store. A customer that day kept flirtatiously petting his arm while he was explaining the benefits of leave in conditioner, so he was desperate to shower and get her hand germs off of him. He wanted to sketch out a new idea for a window display in his notebook before going to sleep. 

Spending the night in this room with hideous wallpaper was definitely not apart of that plan. 

The last thing he remembers was watching The Proposal on Patrick’s laptop, curled up into his boyfriend on his bed. It was starting to get late and he felt his eyes becoming heavy, but this was the longest they’ve been in this room together without any interruptions from Ray. It was nice. Also, he wanted to see Patrick’s reaction, when Ryan Reynolds heroically saves Sandra Bullock from getting hypothermia in the Alaskan water. 

The bedroom is unrecognizable without the soft glow of a lamp or computer screen. The blinds let in little slits of light, but the room was mostly filled with shadows. He stretches his arm to the left and finds cold sheets and the discarded laptop. To his right, he feels Patrick’s comforting warmth against him. Well, it’s comforting until he realizes what this means. 

The queen bed holds so much space and he’s practically on top of his boyfriend, his head resting against the ball of Patrick’s shoulder. He never thought he was a cuddler, not that he spent the night with many of the people he’s dated in the past. He’s surprised by how much he likes it, the feeling of being so close to someone. The short hairs at the nape of his neck tickle David’s nose. Soft, even breaths make Patrick’s chest to slowly rise and fall. He’s rarely this close to his boyfriend’s face. Okay, that’s not true. But usually, he is too distracted by other more pressing matters to get a close look. 

He has long eyelashes. His cheeks are slightly tinged pink, even in his sleep. There is a freckle behind his left ear. 

This is weird. 

A feeling of too soon and too much swells within his chest. They’ve only been dating for two weeks, maybe three? It’s way too early to be noticing things like freckles. Or, wanting to notice things like freckles. David’s head is pounding, screaming for him to retreat.

He starts to move to the other side of the bed, when something stops him. Patrick’s arm has somehow snaked into his sweatshirt, resting against his stomach 

If he wasn’t already panicking, then this would be the moment he spirals.

The urge to crawl up and hide is overpowering. He doesn’t like when people touch him there. It’s too intimate. Too vulnerable. He ate way too much last night and he felt gross, hence the sweatshirt. He has much better qualities. Patrick told him he liked his chest, how broad and solid it felt. That felt safe. Acceptable. 

So, why wasn’t Patrick’s hand there the first thing he noticed? Why did it feel natural, like his hand should be there? 

Nope. Absolutely not. David carefully lifts Patrick’s arm off of him and onto Patrick’s own stomach. He scoots away from his boyfriend, and he hates how hard it is to move away from his warmth. 

It isn’t long after David adjusts to the cold sheets that he feels the mattress shift next to him. He winches against his pillow, hoping Patrick will think he’s asleep. 

A soft hand brushes between his shoulder blades. 

“You stayed”, Patrick says, his sleepy voice breaking the silence. 

David feels his heart melting, and resents how there is nothing he can do about it. He likes being in control, keeping people at a distance. Figures, it only takes two words to crack him open. 

He turns over, but doesn’t let himself get any closer. 

“Yes, it would appear so”, he whispers into the dark.

Patrick’s face looks so sweet, his features softened by the sky that’s beginning to lighten. Surprisingly, bedhead was a real thing, one side of his hair flattened by his pillow. The rest stands up in small puffs, which he curses. It makes him look unbearably cute, which is the last thing he wants to think about right now. He can’t see the freckle behind his hair from this far away. His stomach clenches with...disappointment? 

It takes him a few seconds to realize that the intensity of eyes are not staring into space like he hoped, instead focused on his own face. Ugh, his face. Patrick was probably noticing that before 9 am, his eyes were droopy. His face was all gross and stubbly. He fell asleep last night before his skin routine, so there’s no doubt he’s oily. 

Patrick’s forehead furrows. The next thing David knows, he is being wrapped up in a quilt that was once at the bottom of the bed. 

“What's going on?” David croaks, surprised at how shaky his voice sounds. The concern on his boyfriend’s face is making him uneasy. 

Patrick reaches out a hand and rubs it against David’s bicep. “You’re shivering”. 

He looks down to see his hands shaking, a pillow clutched in his fists. That’s not good. 

“Are you cold?” Patrick asks, gently moving the pillow away and replacing it with his hands. The steady pulse in Patrick’s fingertips helps him think. 

He wasn’t cold. He was hot actually, sweat beginning to collect at his hairline. The thought of Patrick telling him to leave, that this is too much, that he is too much, makes him feel clammy.

“Yeah, a little bit”, he says, more breath than voice. 

Patrick starts to shift his legs off the bed. “I have hoodie in my closet you could-“

“No, no that’s okay”. He felt like his stomach was going to concave on itself. Not only did he lie to Patrick, but he woke him up in the middle of the night and guilted him into giving up his clothes. 

Also, the thought of sharing hoodies with his boyfriend makes him queasy. 

Too soon. Too fast. Too much. 

“Okay”, Patrick says, staring at him a little too closely for his liking. He didn’t like being some confusing puzzle, a burden someone has to figure out. David averts his eyes. 

He doesn’t look up, until he hears the springs beneath him groaning. Patrick had shifted to the far edge of the bed. He saw him give a little nod and David just gazed back. 

“Honey”, he says, “I’m not going to let you shake over there by yourself”. 

Oh, god. Honey.

Before he can stop himself, David lets Patrick pull him into an embrace. He both hates and loves how his heart rate instantly slows in his boyfriend’s arms. 

Patrick sighs, mouth pressed against David’s hair, and suddenly David questions what is supposed to be normal. Maybe, just this once, he didn’t need to run. He could let himself be held, relax under Patrick’s touch. When Patrick lightly knocks his forehead against him, he could knock back. 

The hands that were softly rubbing his shoulders shift down his body, grazing his stomach. David feels the fingers immediately flinch and move to link around David’s arms. The realization dawns on him that Patrick must have been awake when he moved his hand away, making him instantly fill with guilt. Patrick shouldn’t be walking on eggshells around him and nervously anticipating the next challenge. That wasn’t fair to him. 

“Patrick”, he whispers, lifting his boyfriend’s hand off for him to hold. Patrick returns his squeeze so easily, it makes him nearly melt. “I wasn’t, like, thrashing around too much last night. Or taking up the entire bed or anything. Right?”

David feels Patrick shaking his head against his neck. “No, you weren’t”, he softly reassures, “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know, Alexis always complains that I am a noisy sleeper and I move around a lot. I don’t want to be a bother to you”. 

Patrick lets out a breathy laugh. “David, I think your sister was just trying to mess with you”. He moves a hand out of David’s to gently card through this hair. He moves it experimentally at first, simply playing with the short strands on his neck. Without even trying, David feels tension leave his body. Patrick takes note, letting his fingers freely roam his scalp. 

“You literally do the opposite. When you fell asleep during the movie, you were all curled up and took up the least amount of space possible”. David turns to look and Patrick’s face, surprised to see worry traced in his features.

“So, I didn’t do anything weird? Like have a night terror or slap you in my sleep?”

David expects Patrick to laugh or tease him, dismissing his dramatics. Instead, he is greeted with a warm hug from behind. “No, you were good. You were so good. Everything’s good”. 

He tries so hard not to take compliments to heart, since they most likely come from a place of manipulation. But, they sound so sincere coming from Patrick. The words were whispered in his ear over and over, like it was something he wanted him to not only know, but believe. It lights him up inside with a warmth he hasn’t felt in a long, long time.

“It’s nice to have some company”, Patrick continues softly, “I fell asleep so quickly last night. It was nice”. 

David feels his stomach dip. “You’ve been having trouble sleeping?” 

Patrick let out a sharp breath, unintentionally tightening his fingers around a lock of hair. “Yeah, a little”, he admits, “I've been doing a lot of thinking”. 

“Mm hmm” David hopes Patrick can’t hear his nerves, but of course he does. After planting a quick kiss on David’s shoulder, he nuzzles his nose into the fabric of his sweatshirt. 

“When I’m around you, I don’t need to think”. The words are muffled, but David can still hear them. “Everything just makes sense”. 

It finally clicks in David’s head. The feeling that Patrick is trying to describe is exactly what he is experiencing. In the way Patrick didn’t hesitate to wrap a blanket around him. In the way Patrick offered him his hoodie. In the way Patrick ran his fingers through his hair. It scared him at first, but he realizes how it actually feels like the most natural thing in the world. They are little reminders that this time is different. 

“I’m happy things are making sense, Patrick”, he whispers against his pillow. 

For a second, he thinks he was too quiet to be heard. Then, he feels Patrick’s arms tightly circling his chest. A confirmation that everything is okay. 

“Thank you, David”. 

And they both get some much needed rest.


End file.
